Christian faith leaders have been joined by Catholics wanting immigration reform to be addressed by Catholics in the first 100 days of the Congress’ 2017 legislative session. They also call for immigrants to be welcomed and appreciated by Christians living in the US.
The Christian group, Bread for the World, which is primarily focused on ending hunger but also concerns itself with social issues, is behind the attempt to unite many Christian groups as well as organizations representing immigrants from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. These met on 27 September under the guise of We Stand Together. On 28 September, a statement was released by Bread for the World. It said that God loves everyone, including immigrants, immigrants, and that they intend to speak out against anti-immigrant rhetoric.
The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity executive director, Reverend Art Cribbs, says that people need to remember the man at the heart of the Christian faith was once in the same position as many immigrants are today. The faith leaders are urging Christians and other people to talk about the welcome for all people by God and to move away from rhetoric encouraging distrust and division.
They insist that Christians need to speak up for immigrants who have been forced to leave their homelands due to harsh economic conditions and violence. They also note that this is an Asian-American issue as well as a Latino one.